Ten years after Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1951, a cenotaph was unveiled at the main gate of the East Works of the Armco Steel Corp., according to Middletown historian Roger Miller. The 34 names of Middletown men who died during the war were added to the wooden memorial.
After the war, a committee was formed to investigate replacing the structure with a more durable and permanent memorial, Miller said.
Eventually, the Armco cenotaph was erected next to the plant’s hospital in the center of three acres of gardens. It’s shaped like an upward curving lily bloom, Miller said. The base of white Indiana limestone measures five feet high and weighs more than four tons, he said.
It’s made of Armco stainless steel and rises an additional 11 feet. The names of the Armco workers who died in the war are etched on a plaque.
When the main gate of the plant was redone, the cenotaph was moved and stands just inside the gate.
Price said when he tried to stop by the plant to see the cenotaph and pay tribute to his father, he was told he couldn’t enter the gate because he wasn’t an employee. A security guard eventually escorted Price to the monument, he said.
He believes the monument should be moved, and he recommended Woodside because it’s already home to war monuments and it’s easy accessible. He also said the name plate has corroded and needs refurbished.
Lisa H. Jester, corporate manager of communications and public relations at AK Steel, wrote in an email that the company is “proud that the memorial honors employees who served our country” and has no plans to move the cenotaph.
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